That's It, Just One Line - Tattooed Love Boys

"I shot my mouth off and you showed me what that hole was for..."

Secret Life of Objects: Brattle Book Shop Magnet

Free souvenir!

Flying into Boston late for 2018 adult nationals, Dee and I stayed at the Godfrey Hotel downtown before heading to our Airbnb the next day. We had a great evening ordering sandwiches and pints at jw Curley, and the next morning, we headed over to the Boston Common to look at the old cemetery and the Frog Pond, the Boston Skating Club’s outdoor rink.

With some time to kill before checkout, we wandered a bit and discovered the Brattle Book Shop, which could be the American answer to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. Delighted, I browsed the used book sale in the alley and found some books to enjoy. The magnet was at the register, and the owner was proud to state they are one of the oldest and largest booksellers in the United States. 

As bookstores are becoming a dying venture, it’s nice to know they are defying that fate and thriving. It’s giving me cause to seek out other rambling, curious shops like the John King Bookstore in Detroit.

Such goodwill and inspiration from a cash register freebie. 

Typing Out Loud: Being More Than

Such nice extension... you could be a dancer if you wanted, sweetie.

Oh Lord, a professional football player opened his mouth and inserted his foot at a commencement exercise. While praising his stay-at-home wife for maintaining the household while he plays games at an elite level, he basically told the female graduates in attendance that they have been sold a pack of lies in earning their degrees and that they would never be more fulfilled than becoming a wife and mother. 

I love being Will's mom. For him, I have become a super-volunteer for the marching band, the purveyor of snacks at baseball, and a member of the athletic boosters. Not to mention being his unpaid Uber driver.

I love being Dave's wife. For him, I am and always have been, a wage earner, provider of health insurance, and chief cook and bottle washer. 

Ask me about managing TWO jobs during a downturn in his industry, all while being told my career was a "hobby." Yeah, that was a burn that still stings 17 years later. One of my regrets was holding my tongue out of respect when I should have corrected swiftly and definitively. That my honor was not defended still grinds my gears.

My point is, yes - I am a wife and a mother. I respect and honor those roles. But I'm so much more than that. So many other women deserve the respect of being providers, earners, volunteers, and leaders in their community. I just don't understand the sexist tendencies to "put women in their place." 

Cheers to those SAHMs who can afford to do so and have the privilege afforded them to do so, who may also find it fulfilling to do so if that is their choice. But don't knock those of us who have found fulfillment in balancing work and family by necessity or choice. 

The Beatles, Ranked! Outside My Top 25, 31-35

The fellas: "I thought you had a higher opinion of me song than that!"

It was a fight for the top 25, and these songs deserve recognition, if not an argument for being considered higher, part 1:

31

Eight Days a Week (78) I have great memories of shout-singing this while driving along one summer night with Mary and Maria, breaking speeding laws to make curfew. 

32

She's a Woman  Do I have to justify it? I just love it. 

33

Two of Us (22)  You can hear the personal connection between John and Paul singing it together and to each other. It feels like a glimpse into their partnership and a farewell of sorts… let it be, I guess. 

34

Girl  It's lush, it's romantic, it's melancholy, it's conflicting, it's even got an inside joke with the boys in the back singing "tit tit tit tit."

35 TIE

Good Day Sunshine (66) and I'll Follow the Sun (21) Well, crap. One's bursting with bright orange and yellow dance hall joy, the other is wistful and folky. I can't decide so I tied 'em - my blog, my rules.

Edit: Sirius/XM did their annual Top 100 countdown over Memorial Day weekend. A number in parenthesis is that song's position on that countdown.

Best Meal I Ever Ate, Appetizers

Jim and I: seventeen-year-old gastro thrill seekers.

I'm intentionally out of order with May posts to celebrate May 8 as my promaversary!

We were not fancy, fine-dining people growing up. It was a combination of my parents' work schedules - mom was in retail, dad entertained clients on the road and would rather have a bologna sandwich in peace when he got home. 

Also, there were few options for fine dining in Jackson, and those places were reserved for only the most special of occasions. 

My special occasion was in 1987 at Gilbert's Steakhouse, prom with my date Jim and friends. Feeling adventurous, he and I decided to split an order of escargot. 

It was unlike anything I had ever had before. 

The butter sauce was rich and finely seasoned with shallots and garlic. The snails were tender with just a touch of grit so you knew they were authentic, the flavor earthy and seafoody at the same time. (What are snails categorized as, exactly? A stop at the Asian market and snails were in the seafood section.) We sopped the butter up with bits of freshly baked bread that came with the order. 

The table was grossed out, but we didn't care. I don't really remember what our entrees were, steak or chicken probably. It was the escargot that stood out.

Also want to give a nod to my friend Terri, from our group date that night. She passed away earlier this year much to the surprise of all of us in our graduating class. I think she may have been the first girl from our class to pass. Goodspeed, T. 

Rethinking Orange

I have a thing for citrus

Orange is...

Taste: candied grapefruit peel that is bright, citrusy, bitter, and sweet

Touch: warm sunshine with a cool breeze under it

Smell: orange blossoms, possibly the most fantastic scent in the world

Hear: the squelch of a wet flip-flop on the sidewalk